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Rules Are Meant to Be Broken/Three
"I had a friend, long ago, before Redpoppy was born, when Stargaze was just a kit and Sunmark was still Sunpaw. Forestheart was still deputy then - then again, when wasn't he? - but Wetstream already had her warrior name, and that was where the normality ended. Anyways, this friend of mine, his name was Reedpaw. And this is his story. ○ It was a particularly blustery leaf-bare, and snow had caused the branches of every tree in the forest to droop under its weight. Seldom few birds circled the sky, but an occasional crow would let out a screeching call. The forest was mostly silent, ThunderClan contained to the camp except the sporadic hunting party. WindClan was probably frozen to the bone in their protection-less camp, while RiverClan was probably managing nicely with the river having yet to freeze. ShadowClan, well, they were like ThunderClan; stuck in a forest, a bit of prey but not much. Except ''they ''weren't all coming down with some StarClan-forsaken sickness that only Braveheart, one of the oldest elders in the Clan and another inflicted with the sickness, knew the remedy for. Forestheart padded out of the warriors' den with a yawn, flicking his gray ears. Stifling another yawn, he called, "Bramblepaw, Reedpaw, go see if you can catch some prey, all right?" The tabby she-cat bounded out of the apprentices' den, her ears perked. Her green eyes were shining, clearly anticipating the challenge of searching for prey in the stark, barren landscape that awaited her and Reedpaw outside of the cozy ThunderClan camp. Reedpaw followed more slowly, his amber eyes trained on the dust through which he dragged his dainty white paws. Redirecting his gaze, he spotted his friend and traipsed over. "See you later, Forestheart," Bramblepaw mewed cheerfully, signalling to him with her tail that they were about to head out. Wary of her enthusiasm, Forestheart just shook his head at his apprentice's exuberance and let them continue. "We're going to catch a bunch of prey, and help all of the cats overcome this sickness! Maybe we'll even find a good herb or two," she boasted. "I'm sure you will," Forestheart called dryly after them. He shook his head and padded into the leaders' den, probably to deliver news to the ailing Eustar. Already out of the tunnel leading out of camp, Reedpaw turned to Bramblepaw. "We're going to find prey," he mewed stalwartly. "It doesn't matter what we have to kill to get it, whether it's a fox with a dead rabbit, we will get this prey, all right?" Bramblepaw nodded, her eyes shining with admiration. "And we'll beat all of the badgers back to their burrows!" The older apprentice, Reedpaw, stifled a mrow of amusement. The two slowed to a walk, chilled from their run, and began to prowl about in search of adequate prey. They had made promised to each other to bring back at least one piece of prey, and that was a promise they both planned to keep. Aside from benefiting their Clan, they also had their own pride to protect. Bramblepaw wove through the trees, eager to find a morsel to benefit her Clan. She was going to beat Reedpaw, just to see the affection in his eyes when he announced it to the entire Clan. There was a snuffle amongst the snow, and Bramblepaw, without giving a second thought, leaped towards the icy drift. She plunged straight down, falling deeper than she had anticipated and landing on something soft. Writhing about, snow clogging her nose, she struck out beneath her, claws sinking into a warm body. Not one warm body - no, that was more than six! A whole hibernation hole of mice lay beneath her, buried beneath the light dusting of earth and covered completely by snow. Bramblepaw hauled herself out and snapped the necks of twelve mice, throwing them onto the ground beside the snow drift. She gathered them by their tails, and paraded back to her meeting spot with Reedpaw. "Whoa!" he cried, upon sighting his friend. "That's a lot." He bent down, dropping the scrawny vole in his claws and sniffing at the mice. "Mm, still fresh." Without another word, he picked one up and wolfed it down, just catching sight of Bramblepaw's startled expression. "But what about the elders," she protested. "We have enough food for the Clan, plus extra," Reedpaw pointed out. "Now come on." The two gathered their prey in their jaws, Reedpaw having to tuck his shrew under his chin to keep the mice from falling out of his mouth. Bramblepaw frowned, still taken aback that the tom she looked up to had so blatantly defied the Warrior Code, but shook her head and padded on after him. They reached the camp amidst yowls of delight. "Prey," said Forestheart in awe. He had clearly been doubting the two apprentices' abilities, and as the cats, both sick and not, crowded around, prey was handed out and the cats exclaimed about the lack of rumbling in their bellies. After all of the cats had settled down contentedly, bellies full for the first time in ages, the sick cats coughing less and smiling more, Forestheart leaped onto the Tall Rock to summon together all of the seemingly less-ragged cats. "It has been a good day," he declared, a purr rumbling in his throat. "We've gotten prey...and Eustar has recovered enough to make an announcement himself, not just through me." He laughed, and the whole Clan joined in, a joyous chorus of yowls. The wizened gray-brown tabby tom hauled himself out of the den to cheers from his Clan. "Eustar! Eustar! Eustar!" the Clan chanted, beaming. The old tom smiled fondly at his Clan, as though they were all his children and had been particularly good. "By the time the sun fully sets, we will have two more warriors in our presence," rasped the elderly leader. "Reedpaw, Bramblepaw, come--" "Braveheart!" Eustar paused, turning his head towards the elders' den. It was so silent, you could hear the creaking of Eustar's bones as he squinted into the dim depths of the elders' den. The medicine cat, Mistysun, flew out, looking distressed. "Braveheart's dead," she choked, tears staining her gray fur. Eustar froze, his jaw hanging open and looking quite shocked. "He didn't get enough prey," continued Mistysun, and Bramblepaw shot a look to Reedpaw, who looked unabashed. "And only he knew the remedy to this sickness. He had just remembered, he was telling me, it was something beginning with the stir of a breath." "We're doomed!" a warrior yowled, causing cries and jeers to erupt in the crowd. All because of a piece of prey one warrior had decided not to save for his Clan. ○ "Yes, Ashkit, that's really what happened! Yes, he still earned his warrior name, and he's long gone now, Mistykit. Ah, well. Let's hand this next one over to Sunmark, shall we? She knows this tale quite well. Quite well, indeed, yes..."